Forbidden Nation

I’ve mentioned in several reviews my propensity to find and read a book on a place before travelling there. The idea is to learn just enough about the place, its history, and its people to better appreciate the place once I’m there. So far, the Culture Smart series has been the torch-bearer for such books; they are short, cover a vast amount of information (surface-level, of course) and are just enough to scratch this itch of mine. But every now and then, my search would lead me to books that are more foundational, more complete, and are a very different experience than the category of books that Culture Smart, Rough Guides, and Lonely Planet belong to. For instance, books such as Vietnam - Rising Dragon and This Is What Inequality Looks Like are such well-rounded explorations of Vietnam and Singapore respectively. Forbidden Nation is the third book in that category, and I’m glad that Culture Smart did not have a series on Taiwan forcing me to read this interesting book before(and after, in this case) I travelled to the island.

It covers the expansive history of the island we now know as Taiwan, from its first recorded encounter by the Portuguese sailors sailing across the Taiwan Strait, giving it the name “Formosa”. Taiwan has had a tumultuous history and the thriving island that we know it as today has been but a fairly recent development. At one point or another in the course of its history, the Dutch, French, British, Japanese, and of course, Chinese have ruled or occupied the island catering to their own interests. From the viewpoint of the Chinese, Taiwan was an island for rowdy and exiled mainlanders who were sent there as a punishment, but over the course of regime changes on the mainland, that sentiment began to change. By the end of the 20th century, Taiwan had become a democracy. But the stalemate between Taiwan and China will continue, with the US strategically involved with both sides in order to understandably cater to its national interests. For Taiwan, it’s all about maintaining a tricky balance between promoting and securing a Taiwanese identity while at the same time, not trying to rile up Beijing. This balance has come to define the political discourse on the island but so far it has largely worked in Taiwan’s favor, with its relatively stable and growing economy while avoiding an open conflict with the mainland. The future is uncertain though.

My only complaint with the book was that some topics felt unnecessarily drawn out and it became a drag before picking up steam again. Despite that, this was a genuinely good read if you’re interested in the topic.